1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to the installation of fastener elements and, in particular, to automating the installation of fastener elements. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for automating the installation of frangible elements, such as frangible collars.
2. Background
During manufacturing, different types of fastener elements may be installed in various types of objects. For example, without limitation, fastener elements, such as bolts, may be used to join a stackup of two or more parts together. Other fastener elements, such as collars, may then be used to secure and hold the parts together. In some cases, these collars may be referred to as nuts.
In some industries, such as the aerospace industry, fastener elements in the form of frangible collars may be used. As used herein, a “frangible collar” may be a collar having one portion of the collar that is designed to break off from another portion of the collar at a selected torque. The portion that is designed to break off may be referred to as the nut of the frangible collar, while the portion that remains may be referred to as the collar.
As one example, when a frangible collar is being threaded onto a threaded bolt, the nut portion of the frangible collar may break off once a selected torque has been reached to leave the collar portion of the frangible collar threaded onto the threaded bolt. The use of frangible collars may allow a collar and bolt to be assembled without having to control the torque applied by a torque wrench to ensure that the applied torque is within specified tolerances.
With some currently available methods for installing frangible collars, the nuts that break off from the collars may become foreign object debris (FOD). This foreign object debris may cause undesired effects within a manufacturing environment. For example, without limitation, when the nut portion of a frangible collar breaks off from the collar portion of the frangible collar, the nut portion may break off in an uncontrolled manner and/or in an undesired direction. In particular, the nut portion may break off and impact a piece of equipment or machinery within the manufacturing environment in an undesired manner.
Further, some currently available methods for installing frangible collars require that the installation be performed manually. For example, without limitation, these methods may require that a human operator or human-operated machinery thread a frangible collar onto a bolt. However, performing this type of installation manually may be more time-consuming and labor-intensive than desired.
In certain industries, manufacturing is moving towards automated manufacturing. It may be desirable to have a system for automating the installation of frangible collars such that the integration of robotic automation and the manual installation of frangible collars may not be needed in future manufacturing environments. Therefore, it may be desirable to have a method and apparatus that take into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues.